Note: A few days ago Nate asked me if I would be interested in becoming a staff writer for MobileRead. I gladly agreed, and this is my first post in this role.

Barely ten days into January, 2010 is already being hailed as the year of the ereader. However, recent developments indicate that 2010 could be the beginning of the end for dedicated ereaders as new multi-function devices become the ereading devices of choice for consumers. Even as the Apple Tablet looms over the horizon, companies like Pixel Qi and Qualcomm hope to antiquate e-ink based devices with new display technologies that offer full color, video-capable refresh rates and enhanced indoor and outdoor viewability while still consuming far less power than traditional LCD screens.

Another such company is Liquavista, a 2006 spin-out from Philips Research Labs in Eindhoven, Netherlands. The key to Liquavista’s display technology is electrowetting, a technique that uses electric fields to change how solid surfaces interact with liquids. Liquavista’s electrowetting displays consist of a layer of colored oil between a layer of water and a solid water-repelling surface. In this stable state, the layer of oil is visible to the viewer through the water. When a charge is applied, the layer of oil changes its shape, exposing the solid surface below and changing the perceived color of the 3-layered surface. Such manipulations are performed at the level of tiny pixels to create a full-color screen. The power consumption of Liquavista’s display technique remains low because the stable state requires a low constant charge and the solid surface below the layer of oil can be made reflective to maintain screen brightness without the need for a backlight like in LCD screens. Most importantly, the electric transformations that manipulate the layer of oil can be applied several hundred times a second, giving the technology the ability to render video.

In October 2009 Liquavista demonstrated a 6-inch device running video on a monochrome display with 64 shades of gray (compared to the Kindle’s 16). The official name of the monochrome technology is LiquavistaBright:

At CES this year, Liquavista displayed the color version of LiquavistaBright. The demo below compares a contemporary e-ink screen with LiquavistaColor technology.

At CES Liquavista also demonstrated a concept device called the LiquavistaPebble (video below), but few specifics were released beyond the description of the curved shape of the device.

While Liquavista’s technology sounds promising, the biggest challenge for the company isn’t technical. Pixel Qi has already announced a partnership with Notion Ink to bring a color e-reader to market this summer, and there have been strongrumors about the next Kindle using Qualcomm’s Mirasol color display. So far Liquavista have only announced a partnership with chip-maker Texas Instruments, who plan to use Liquavista in their ‘next-generation e-reader development platform’. There are reports that Liquavista-based devices will not be available before the first quarter of 2011, by when Pixel Qi and Qualcomm’s Mirasol may have made significant inroads into the ereading market.

E-ink based displays have played an important role in creating the current market for ereaders and continue to dominate the market as the screen technology of choice in e-readers from Amazon, Sony and Barnes & Noble. But e-ink (and dedicated e-reading products) might be forced into oblivion as new multi-function devices offer more bang for the consumers’ buck. Sri Peruvemba, vice president of marketing at E Ink, is still not convinced. “If I give one of these devices to my daughter and I know she’s going to make phone calls on it and surf the Internet on it, I’m not going to be motivated to buy it for her”.

If the lack of features like video and voice continues to be E Ink’s unique selling proposition, display innovators like Liquavista might have much to cheer about this year.

Thanks to CleverClothe for pointing out an error in the story's description of Liquavista's power management techniques.

But e-ink (and dedicated e-reading products) might be forced into oblivion as new multi-function devices offer more bang for the consumers’ buck.

Would this be in much the same way that GPS/map consoles, mp3 players, game consoles, cellphones, and digital cameras have been forced into oblivion?

Multi-function devices definitely have a market share (although it is significantly smaller than their piece of geek mindshare) but until they can offer an equivalent (or superior) reading experience for an equivalent (or lower) price, I'll be sticking with dedicated e-readers rather than joining the 'Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein iSlate!' parade.

That said, platform is really pretty much irrelevant - more people buying ebooks will hopefully translate into more, and better, ebooks becoming available, and then we all win. Regardless of what device(s) we choose to do our reading on.

I'd love to have a dedicated ebook reader with a Liquavista screen. I have absolutely no need for video, but I do have a need to view things quickly, which present electrophoretic screens like E-Ink cannot do. There are many potential benefits of a high-rate-capable display that do not amount to video playback.

E-Ink's current manifestation probably deserves to be obsolesced with things that perform more quickly and with better viewing quality. However, one should not assume E-Ink to be equal to dedicated devices, unless E-Ink were significantly cheaper than competing e-paper technologies, which I don't expect to be the case.

For competent video playback, there's more than simply a screen to be concerned with, and cumulative hardware and software costs could be a factor in device price. If such is the case, then dedicated readers with superior screens should still be able to replace E-Ink devices assuming prices are kept similar (or lower).

Take a look at what they think at gizmodo and engadget. Maybe e-ink is in big trouble after all. Liquivista, Pixel QI and mirasol salute you.

Probably should be said that Pixel Qi is not promoted as an ultra-low-power solution. It's a slightly different kind of beast that takes quite a bit more power than most e-paper display options. It will certainly be a battery saver relative to the full-backlight option, and it will be very versatile kind of medium for multiple functions in different lighting conditions, but it's not really meant to be clustered in with ultra-low power reflective e-papers.

As with all the new screen techs, it's fairly easy to promise the moon -- or even build a decent prototype -- and much harder to ramp up to actual production, in the time frame promised, and at a good price point. Hopefully it will work out, but it's way too early to say.

Otherwise, the "zomg multifunction must win" has kinda gotten beaten to death lately on these boards.

I never really thought e-ink was a great solution for readers. About all it really has going for it is low battery consumption. Some folks really like the print quality, but I find it slow and low-contrast-y and.

That's why I really like reading on my old Palm device or netbook. Sometimes I really like to change background/type colors. And page turns are so fast I don't always see them.

I expect one of these new techs to make it out of the gate in a year or two. It will end up replacing e-ink over time. It'll sell on e-book readers simply because of page turn speeds, if nothing else...

Probably should be said that Pixel Qi is not promoted as an ultra-low-power solution. It's a slightly different kind of beast that takes quite a bit more power than most e-paper display options. It will certainly be a battery saver relative to the full-backlight option, and it will be very versatile kind of medium for multiple functions in different lighting conditions, but it's not really meant to be clustered in with ultra-low power reflective e-papers.

True, Mary Lou Jepsen says it will save 80 per cent of the consumption with the back light off which I guess should be enough for someone to read all day long, from dawn till dusk. Most people don't really need anything more than that, you can let it recharge while you' re asleep.

True, Mary Lou Jepsen says it will save 80 per cent of the consumption with the back light off which should be enough for someone to read all day long, from dawn till dusk. Most people don't really need anything more than that, you can let it recharge while you' re asleep.

Yep, 80 percent of the display power. And yes it may allow all-day power on something with, say, a big netbook battery. That's quite a different beast than the pathetic little batteries they cram into ebook reader devices.

Just for a quick example...if you have a netbook with a power consumption of, say, 8 watts altogether including 2.5 watts for the screen, and then stuff in a Pixel Qi display and run without the backlight, you'll be saving about 2 watts, or 25% total device power consumption. That's a pretty conservative estimate too for a netbook, IIRC.

Tablet power consumption will not be significantly different. One of the convenient "cheats" of e-ink devices was that the screens were so slow that it was safe and economically wise to put significantly underpowered processors behind them. However, even with those processors, the most optimistic projections for Pixel Qi power consumption (they hope to reach 100 milliwatts draw) will still be more double the consumption of even jetBook's LCD. Currently it's more than ten times that in reflective mode, if I recall.

first of all that was your 666th post which is cool, and secondly a typical seven inch tablet runs on a low power processor, usually ARM, and the main consumption drain comes from the screen. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

the most optimistic projections for Pixel Qi power consumption (they hope to reach 100 milliwatts draw) will still be about double the consumption of jetBook's LCD. Currently it's more than ten times that in reflective mode, if I recall.

According to Mary Lou Jepsen 5 times that in reflective mode on a netbook screen. Smaller size tablet screens will consume less, I guess!